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Instructions

• You will submit an APA-formatted research paper totaling a minimum of 7 pages.
• You will explore a self-selected topic (from this list of Research Paper Topics list) in depth.
• The 7 pages must include: title page, abstract, body of the paper (4 pages minimum), and reference list. Papers cannot be more than 10 total pages in length.
• Papers must include supportive evidence from at least three peer-reviewed journal articles. Peer-reviewed journal articles are posted in each week of the Content area to correspond with each chapter of the textbook.
• In your paper, you may use the article from the Content area that corresponds with the topic of your choice. You must identify two additional peer-reviewed journal articles from the Columbia College Stafford Library and apply them in your paper. Your textbook may be used as a supplemental source.
• Every paragraph of your paper must contain at least one citation from your sources to support your assertions.
• The paper must reflect good application of all the referenced sources. In other words, you may not rely heavily on the textbook or one article.
• All sources must be properly formatted using APA in-text citations and a reference list.

TOPIC LIST 

1. Child Welfare: Explore the advantages of a family preservation programs, including ways in which human service professionals can assist foster care children with this transition.
2. Adolescents: What are some common ways rebelliousness manifests in the adolescent population? Frame your response within the appropriate context. As a human service professional, what are some evidence-based ways you might consider responding to an adolescent client experiencing psychosocial problems?
3. Older Adults: Many older adults need to change their living accommodations at some point, for a variety of reasons, including affordability, physical challenges, proximity to other family members, or a need for specialized care. What additional factors should a human service professional take into account while working with older adult clients who are making such a transition?
4. Mental Health: Describe the process of deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, citing the reasons, goals, and short- and long-term effects of the transition from an institutional model to a community mental health model.
5. Homelessness: The McKinney-Vento Act and the HEARTH Act made great strides in defining who is “homeless” and gaining an accurate count of how many homeless persons there are in the United States. Why are a definition and count important steps toward addressing the issue of homelessness? What else is needed to facilitate the next steps toward eradicating homelessness?
6. Hospice: Describe the hospice philosophy, including some of the tasks a human service professional working in hospice may engage in with terminally ill clients and their family members. Include discussion of Kubler-Ross’s stages of grief and Wolfeldt’s task-centered approach in supporting clients and families in preparation for the client’s death and following the client’s death to help the family?
7. Rural Human Services: Describe some of the unique problems that affect access to services for individuals who reside in rural areas. What can the human service professional do to address these issues? What role does rural cultural competence play for the human service professional? What special concerns may be a factor with regard to ethical standards, and how can the human service professional address them?
8. Human Services in the Schools: Compare and contrast the functions and roles of the various human service professionals working in a school environment, including the origins of the different school-based professions, respective professional identity, including role overlap, and treatment goals.
9. Faith-Based Agencies: What re the benefits and challenges of faith-based counseling? Why is it important for human service professionals to develop competency in this area? Cite the rationale for incorporating spirituality into the counseling relationship, including exploring the difference between positive and negative religious coping mechanisms.
10. Corrections: Describe the roles and functions of human service providers working within prison settings. Provide some key demographic information of inmates, including female inmates. Include ways in which recidivism rates can be lowered for inmates of all demographics.